Day-To-Day Operations: The United States Fire Department

Fire Departments across the nation occupy a precarious financial position; their budgets rise and fall as the local tax base expands or contracts. At the same time, local citizens demand, at a minimum, that the fire department provide the same level of service from year to year. Not only does this stress day-to-day operations, it also makes it nearly impossible to meet regulatory requirements or forecast long term capital purchases. Executive Fire Officers are forced to find creative solutions to navigate this financial uncertainty. The United States Fire Administration has catalogued several alternate funding sources. Some Fire Departments have requested federal, state, and private grants. Others jurisdictions have levied a variety of taxes …show more content…
This is predicated on the belief that emergency responses are part of a Fire Department’s normal responsibilities which are properly funded through local taxes. In fact, it bears mentioning that several states, including Arizona, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kansas, Maine, New York, and South Dakota, still adhere to the “free public service doctrine”. Proponents respond of this policy refute these charges by pointing out that a large portion of motor-vehicle accidents involve non-resident drivers who are not assed property taxes and therefore do not contribute to the local tax base. In municipalities which only bill insurance providers covering non-residents, taxpayers are not burdened by additional expenses. In these instances cost recovery cannot be considered a “double tax,” it is more appropriate to consider it a direct use-fee. Many municipalities throughout the United States have adopted the practice of charging use-fees to non-residents. However, ten states have outlawed this cost-recovery method including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and …show more content…
It is incumbent on executive officers to balance the needs of the community with the fiscal realities of a post-recession nation. Charging insurance providers for services provided to non-resident drivers are an effective way for fire departments to ease fiscal stress without reducing service. Fire Departments with a clearly articulated and transparent fee recovery program can employ predetermined and itemize price-lists to generate additional revenue without causing an undue burden to municipal residents. By restricting this policy to non-residents the municipality avoids the political hazard of implementing a “double tax”. The general public they serve already pays taxes for emergency services and may fear that the department’s new policy may be a “double tax”. It’s essential for fire departments who choose to enact the policy of billing insurance companies to avoid billing home owners and